Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

Soup has got to be one of the most craved-for meals during cold weather. For me, I especially love serving hot soup in oversized coffee mugs. As the soup begins to cool, I can wrap my hands around the mug to warm my fingers.

I have chronic cold hands. Death fingers (that’s what I call them). So, take it from your ol’ friend Death fingers, make some soup this month if it’s cold where you are. It’s the perfect remedy.

I love all kinds of soups, I must confess. It can be super creamy potato soup, rustic lentil, or a puréed veggie based soup. This is the latter. So, you can feel better as this comfort food is mostly cooked vegetables that you’ll be consuming. Score!

First you need to roast your red peppers. Sometimes you can find roasted red peppers already cooked and de-skinned in a jar, which makes this an even easier meal to prepare. But if you can’t find any in a jar or just prefer to roast your own, here’s how.

Remove the stem, inside veins, and seeds from the bell peppers. Cut in fourths. Rub a tablespoon of olive oil over a baking pan and place the peppers on the pan, cut side down. Cook under the broiler until the skins become charred looking, about 6-8 minutes for me. I find that broilers are all a little different, so keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.

Once you remove them from the oven, place in a plastic bag (or two). Seal and let them steam for a couple of minutes. Once they are just cool enough to handle, remove the bags and peel off the skins.

In a medium sized pot, add a tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium heat. Toss in the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until it begins to soften. Toss in the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Season with the cayenne and a little salt and pepper.

Now add in the canned tomatoes and juices and the roasted red peppers. Cook over medium low heat for 5-6 minutes until everything gets heated. Puree with an immersion blender or in a blender in batches (be careful as it’s hot!). Continue to cook and add the cream if you are using it. Also, if the soup seems too thick, you can add a little vegetable stock or water to thin it out.

Instructions

First you need to roast your red peppers. Sometimes you can find roasted red peppers already cooked and de-skinned in a jar, which makes this an even easier meal to prepare. But if you can't find any in a jar or just prefer to roast your own, here's how.

Remove the stem, inside veins, and seeds from the bell peppers. Cut in fourths. Rub a tablespoon of olive oil over a baking pan and place the peppers on the pan, cut side down. Cook under the broiler until the skins become charred looking, about 6-8 minutes for me. I find that broilers are all a little different, so keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Once you remove them from the oven, place in a plastic bag (or two). Seal and let them steam for a couple of minutes. Once they are just cool enough to handle, remove the bags and peel off the skins.

In a medium sized pot, add a tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium heat. Toss in the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until it begins to soften. Toss in the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Season with the cayenne and a little salt and pepper.

Now add in the canned tomatoes and juices and the roasted red peppers. Cook over medium low heat for 5-6 minutes until everything gets heated. Puree with an immersion blender or in a blender in batches (be careful as it's hot!). Continue to cook and add the cream if you are using it. Also, if the soup seems too thick, you can add a little vegetable stock or water to thin it out. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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53 Comments

Yum! Tomato soup is a staple in our house (alongside grilled cheese, of course), and I love the idea of adding in some red pepper to include some veggies. Bet you roasting them makes this taste amazing 🙂

Love the recipe, love the star-shaped toasty croutons….going to have to make those for my littles (they’ll love them!). That’s why I love you guys so much: such a lovely take on such a ‘normal’ thing as croutons….makes life that little bit more wonderful. Thank you.

More and more often I find myself making grocery lists that come from your recipes. I HAVE to make this one. It just sounds like a hug in a giant mug. As a bearer of death fingers, myself, I’m very excited. Thanks!!

Yum!!! This seems so easy. Thanks for the recipe, Emma. I was in Portland a few weeks ago and came across a delicious tomato soup that had orange/lemon in it to make it brighter. I think orange might go well with this too!

Mmmm I am SO excited to try this recipe! I consistently buy roasted red pepper soup at whole foods, so I’m pumped to make it on my own! I’ve never roasted peppers yet either, so that’ll be a fun foodie project. Even in Hawaii, we love soup in our “winter” which means a chilly 68 degrees…brrr;)

I’ve never been a huge fan of tomato soup, but it sounds like I could be converted into a tomato soup lover with this recipe because it has roasted red peppers (love!) and cayenne pepper (LOVE even more)!

Haha I love those little star croutons! Tomato soup & grilled cheese is my favorite lunch of all time. The Barefoot Contessa has a tomato soup recipe that she tops with “grilled cheese croutons” … ie just a grilled cheese sandwich cut into cubes and thrown on top of the soup. It’s fantastic!

I’m going to try this! I just picked up a jar of roasted bell peppers from Costco and was looking for something to cook with them. This looks delicious! Yay! I will also add my cheers to everyone else’s about the star croutons – what a great idea.

Just wanted to say that I’ve made this recipe and it was amazing! I wasn’t sure in the beginning as it seemed like just a regular tomato sauce. But as soon as I blended in the peppers, the whole thing came alive! Creamy and a nice balance of flavours. I think I’ll even skip the cream next time. The peppers already give a creamy texture. Thanks for the recipe!